Building Tour

Supreme Court

You are now on the third floor, via the Grand Staircase. This floor houses the Supreme Court Justices'
offices, the Supreme Court Clerk's office, the Reporter of Decisions' office, and other support staff.

If you look out the window, you can see down into the courtyard area.

There are nine judges. Eight of them are called "Associate Justice," plus the Chief Justice, who is
elected especially to be Chief Justice and has not necessarily been on the Court the longest.

Many cases are decided by Division, each of which consists of a panel of five justices (four justices
plus the chief justice). If there is disagreement in Division, the case must be discussed by the full
Court. Some cases are always decided by the full Court (e.g., death penalty, etc.).

The Courtroom

We are now entering the Supreme Court Courtroom. This courtroom occupies the central point under the dome
and is directly over the rotunda. This room is patterned after the Rotunda Library designed by Thomas
Jefferson at the University of Virginia.

The room is 75' in diameter and 50' to the skylight at the apex of the domed ceiling, which is designed
like a planetarium ceiling. Around the perimeter of the room are 12 pairs of classical columns replicating
the limestone columns on the building front.

The curved bench is nearly 40' long and is built of the finest mahogany with rich detailing and ornate
carving. Inserted behind the wood in the bench (as well as the benches of the other two appellate courts)
is a material called Keplar, which is a bulletproof material. The doors directly behind the bench are
where the Court enters. On the left side of the bench (as the attorneys are facing it) is the Marshal's
station. On the right side of the bench is the Clerk's station. The curved tables facing the bench on
each side of the courtroom are where the attorneys for the appellant and appellee sit during oral arguments.

The handcarved seal on the front of the bench is made of mahogany by an architectural woodcarver, Mr. Ralph
Gaither, a former Navy pilot, who was a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War for 7 years and 4 months.
After returning to the United States, he learned his woodcarving skills while stationed in California. He
now resides in Gulf Breeze, Florida, and teaches at Escambia High School. The seal took about a month to
carve; what was particularly difficult was fitting the seal to the curvature of the judicial bench. The
center panel of the bench, along with the molding, was loaned to Mr. Gaither to ensure the piece fit
perfectly. The seal reads "The Seal of the Supreme Court of Alabama" and is highlighted with gold leaf.

There is seating on the main level for 100 people. The seating in the upper gallery will accommodate 75 people.

Notice the carpet in the center of the courtroom. The carpet is custom-designed by Lee Sims, the building's
architect, from the Barganier, Davis, Sims firm in Montgomery. It was hand woven by the Edward Fields, Inc.,
firm in New York City and took three years to weave, even though the actual construction of the Judicial
Building took only two years.

The main principle behind the organization of the building is an imaginary sphere 100' in diameter that
incorporates and defines the central Rotunda, Supreme Court Courtroom, and Dome. When counsel argues
before the Court at the lectern, he or she is standing at the very center of this sphere.

How the Appellate System Works

The Supreme Court is the court of last resort. The parties have previously litigated in a court below,
and the losing party may appeal if it thinks that decision was unjust. The "appellant" is the party
who lost or is not satisfied with the decision of the trial court or appellate court below. He or she
appeals to the Supreme Court. The "appellee" is the other party, usually the party who prevailed in
the lower court.

Cases are decided on the law applicable to the situation, so an appellate judge must do a lot of legal
research. Some cases come to the Supreme Court by right (e.g., death penalty, cases involving a large
amount of money, appeals from the Public Service Commission), and some by petition. Petitions for a
writ of certiorari ("certs") ask the Court to hear a case; the Court has the right to refuse, and
usually does so when no new law would be made or when it appears that no injustice has been done.
When writs are granted, they are considered like any other case, and an opinion is issued. Sometimes,
after reviewing a granted cert, the Court determines that it should not have been granted, and the
writ will be quashed as improvidently granted. The cert procedure of our Supreme Court differs from
the procedure in the U.S. Supreme Court, where the review of ALL cases is discretionary; U.S. Supreme
Court decisions arise from writs granted.

As cases come to the Court, the Clerk's office assigns them in strict rotation to each justice, although
the Chief Justice is assigned half as many because he sits on both divisions. The lawyers in some of
the cases request oral argument, and the Justice who is assigned the case determines whether or not to
grant it. If it is granted, the lawyers argue before the Justices in Supreme Court courtroom.

Each side has 20 minutes to plead his or her case. There is a panel of lights on the lecturn which
show the lawyers when time for argument is over.

Oral arguments are open to the public.

How Justices Work

Each Justice has three lawyers or legal assistants to help research cases under his or her direction.
The Justice reads the record of what happened in the court below, and reads the briefs that are submitted
by the lawyers for each side. The lawyers supply sufficient copies of the briefs for later distribution
to each justice. A brief is similar to a term paper in that it sets out the facts and tells the reasons
why that party thinks that he or she should win. The brief must meet certain rules, including the color
of the cover, the number of pages, what must be contained in it, and how it must be set up.

The Justice in charge of the case drafts an opinion and gives a copy of it, together with a set of the
briefs, to each of the other Justices. They meet in the conference room, which is situated behind the
courtroom, with nobody else present, and discuss the case. They vote whether to concur (agree) with the
draft opinion, to modify it, or to dissent (disagree).

Often, the parties have been waiting weeks or months for this important event in their lives, and those
of us who work in this building are very conscious of the duty to serve "Justice" for the people of
this State: one constant reminder is the very title "Justice" carried by each Supreme Court judge.

Election of Judges

All appellate judges are elected for six year terms in statewide "at large" elections.